• Every firearm used by navy personnel has at least one type of built in safety device.

• Almost every accidental shooting is due to negligence or carelessness.

• Use common sense when handling any type of firearms.

• Use hearing protective devices when using firearms, such as circumaural type (Mickey Mouse ears).

• Also you must wear eye protection as well. The Navy has several types os safety glasses and goggles that provide adequate protection.

• M-14 Rifle fires either semiautomatic or automatic at the rate of 750 rounds per minute. It is chambered for the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge and it accommodates a 20 round magazine and M76 grenade launcher as well as the M-6 bayonet. The rifle weighs about 9lbs empty and about 11lbs fully loaded.

• M16 A-1/A-2 Rifle – Magazine fed, gas operated shoulder weapon. Chambered for 5-56. The magazine has a capacity of 20 or 30 rounds. Has a muzzle velocity of 3,000 feet per second.

• The most important factors for you to remember about a rifle are sight alignment and achieving a correct aiming point. Together the make up the sight picture.

• Keeping your eye the same distance from the peep sight is called spot weld or anchor.

• The .38 caliber revolver is a cylinder-loading, single or double action. The cylinder holds six rounds.

• The .45 caliber service pistol is intended for close combat. The .45 caliber is a semiautomatic, recoil-operated, magazine-fed hand weapon. The clip holds 7 rounds. It has a maximum effective range of 50 yards.

• Note the .38 and .45 caliber hand guns have been replaced with the M-9. I would study the M-9, because the M-9 started to be phased in back in 1985. M-9 has single or double action. It is a semiautomatic hand weapon. The 9mm magazine can hold 15 rounds.

• The 9mm is equipped with three types of safety features. The ambidextrous slide safety, the firing pin block, and the half cock notch.

• Trigger Control : use the acronym BRASS
B-Breath: do not hold breath for more than 10 seconds
R-Relax: stay relaxed
A-Aim: proper sight alignment
S-Slack: some triggers have slack
S-Squeeze: smoothly, gradually, and straight to rear.

• Most poor shooting is usually caused by jerking the trigger and flinching when firing. The single most important factor in marksmanship is trigger control.

• The advantage of shot guns over pistols/revolvers is the sight alignment is not so critical.

• Shotguns are being used by the Navy in security guard work. They are the weapons of choice for short-range work.